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“Today we moved into our new Facebook building”

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121–130 of 468 posts

Re: “Today we moved into our new Facebook building”

#121

Not being snide, but I REALLY do want to see a picture of a work desk (imagine it would be one of those standing/sitting electronic ones) and a chair and a computer! Or is that confidential info?

Yeah this is a bit silly... "Yes Facebook, what I really wanted to see was a helicopter view of the building."

Re: “Today we moved into our new Facebook building”

#122
post #14

Here's an article with a bunch of sizzling Instagram shots from people who got to take the first look: http://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/web/news/a14830/face... I'm really impressed by how non-gimmicky this Gehry building looks on the outside, and it seems like they really did a good job designing whatever space isn't consumed by the open plan.

No pictures of day to day work space, alas.

Have you ever seen a company where the actual work space is shown?

Re: “Today we moved into our new Facebook building”

#123
post #45

I will never work in an open office plan. It's one of the items on my "prima donna" list. Despite the name I'm pretty serious, and while some of this list represents things that others might not be able to avoid, or even agree with because they are personal preferences, all of the items are the result of bad experiences or missteps I've experienced directly at a job in the past. I know some may object to these. That'…

I actually like your list, except for 19/20 which I personally don't care about.

I personally believe that benefits should be a la carte.. pick what you want, get cash for ones you don't want. The "free food" thing is a big one for me. I don't like 90% of the food offered, I'd rather just have the cash.

Re: “Today we moved into our new Facebook building”

#124
post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not a very convincing line of reasoning at all. It's just the classic "there are starving children in Africa" slippery slope argument. What happened to striving for better? There's nothing wrong with that. Worse, it seems to unfairly distort things as well. On what basis have you concluded that this person thinks he's better than people from India? And I think except for a few bullet points he's not asking for…

That's not what a slippery slope argument is. I am not arguing that some event must follow inevitably from the other without presenting an argument for why this follows. Anyway, what bugs me so much is the entitlement. Sure, maybe you can find a job like that. But what makes you think that you deserve it? And yes, there is a problem with being entitled. The world is already too full of selfish assholes. I really woul…

I suppose I really don't understand your argument. You're suggesting that someone in a position to strive for more shouldn't do so because there are other people who aren't in such a position?

If nobody tries to raise the standard, then it will never be raised. Based on his other posts, this guy is the CTO of a small startup. Maybe in a year or two he'll be hiring and providing these benefits to others. How's that a bad thing?

I understand being turned off by entitlement. But, really, calling the guy who's advocating for better environments for workers and employees an asshole seems backwards. If we're going to call anyone an asshole, surely it would be the people fighting in the opposite direction.

I think you're taking for granted the centuries of work that it's taken to get even to where we are now. Read about what working conditions were like a century ago or more. Go read about the horrors of being a chimney sweep. We don't have to endure that sort of treatment anymore because people were entitled and whiny and constantly strove for better conditions. Let's do the same for those who will follow us another 200 years from now.

Also, whoever is going on a downvote spree on everyone here, I invite you to simply enter the discussion instead. I've downvoted nobody.

Re: “Today we moved into our new Facebook building”

#125
post #108
post #81

a single room that fits thousands of people. What a nightmare. These "glass palace" offices may work for bankers or marketing teams. For programmers you could just as well plant their desks into the middle of a mall.

The offensive part is the people who say that open offices are MORE EFFICIENT than a traditional office. I have a hard time believing that one. Given how high programmer salaries are, the productivity loss due to open offices is almost definitely more than the office space savings. It seems like an introvert/extrovert thing. The introverts would prefer a quiet working space (and they're usually the best workers), but…

> The introverts ... usually the best workers,... extroverts... usually the bosses

That's an incredibly simplistic way to view an effective workforce.

Re: “Today we moved into our new Facebook building”

#126

Here's an article with a bunch of sizzling Instagram shots from people who got to take the first look: http://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/web/news/a14830/face... I'm really impressed by how non-gimmicky this Gehry building looks on the outside, and it seems like they really did a good job designing whatever space isn't consumed by the open plan.

Hard surfaces everywhere. The acoustical consultant in me takes one look at those pictures and wants to start crying.

Re: “Today we moved into our new Facebook building”

#127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You and all the research seems to agree. Of course, the anecdotal evidence outliers will disagree, but I don't see how there's a debate anymore when you look at productivity.

I don't know if the research is that crystal clear right now. I have no doubt that developers will write more code whilst in offices free of distraction. But the question is do they miss out on key business knowledge by not being around other people. Especially if they are in Agile feature teams.

Maybe you can train your Agile developers to write down "key business knowledge" in complete sentences. You don't prefer to live under the tyranny of oral tradition, do you?

Re: “Today we moved into our new Facebook building”

#128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never worked in an open floor plan with more that like 100 people. But I seem to recall only being bothered by people within a few cube sections from me in any direction. I would imagine that at some point the rest of the people in the "room" are far enough away that it doesn't really matter.

The collaboration that an open floor plan is supposed to promote has for me more or less translated to 'i can clearly see you so that is an open invitation to come interrupt you'. For me it's mostly that plus the constant movement in your peripheral vision nearby and far away that makes it bad.

the constant movement in your peripheral vision nearby and far away that makes it bad.

It's not just you, that stuff is in our biology.

Even worse than motion in your peripheral vision is activity behind your back (e.g. people walking by).

Unknown action (sound/vibrations) behind our back triggers our flight reflex, which is very hard to suppress.

Re: “Today we moved into our new Facebook building”

#129
post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Closed cans or IEMs allow you to have very little (or no) audio volume while still blocking outside noise.

And both tend to get very uncomfortable when worn for extended periods of time.

Totally agree. I think offices should be default with optional communal areas, not the opposite (communal offices with limited private work rooms).

Re: “Today we moved into our new Facebook building”

#130
post #37

Here's an article with a bunch of sizzling Instagram shots from people who got to take the first look: http://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/web/news/a14830/face... I'm really impressed by how non-gimmicky this Gehry building looks on the outside, and it seems like they really did a good job designing whatever space isn't consumed by the open plan.

The article asks me to prepare for a "serious case of office-envy." My lack thereof: http://m.imgur.com/wMzLSjo .

Oh wow. A door. That must be nice.
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